


Her Marauder DNA

by minniethecatt



Series: Minerva Potter 'verse [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic, F/M, Gen, M/M, Post-Second War with Voldemort, Remus Lupin Lives, Second War with Voldemort, Sirius Black Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:21:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24339556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minniethecatt/pseuds/minniethecatt
Summary: Minnie is turning 11. She's waiting for that, that thing, to arrive. She's waiting for her family to celebrate the occasion and throughout the day she talks with some people about how she feels. From Harry, to her aunt, to her grandfathers, to the one and only woman who could really reassure her.Little Minerva will be more than alright though.[From the fic: She was filled with so many emotions, she did not know how to cope with the whole lot of them. Anxiety, excitement, happiness, nervousness, she could name them all. The knot in her stomach tightened. She had felt like this for the past few days. She was expecting it to arrive, she knew she would eventually get it, but she couldn’t help but feel this way. Today was her eleventh birthday, a pivotal age in the wizarding world, and her entire, weird, but most loving family was going to come at their house to celebrate for lunch, but her granddads and Teddy would probably come over for breakfast, as they had done every year. ]
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Teddy Lupin/Victoire Weasley (hinted)
Series: Minerva Potter 'verse [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1734163
Kudos: 15





	Her Marauder DNA

3rd June 2016

It was a bright late spring day. On the third day of June just after the dawn, as the sun was slowly ascending into the sky, Minerva had woken up in her bed on the day she thought would be one of the most important of her life. Maybe, even _the_ most important.

She was filled with so many emotions, she did not know how to cope with the whole lot of them. Anxiety, excitement, happiness, nervousness, she could name them all. The knot in her stomach tightened. She had felt like this for the past few days. She was expecting _it_ to arrive, she knew she would eventually get it, but she couldn’t help but feel this way. Today was her eleventh birthday, a pivotal age in the wizarding world, and her entire, weird, but most loving family was going to come at their house to celebrate for lunch, but her granddads and Teddy would probably come over for breakfast, as they had done every year. The entire Weasley clan was expected around lunchtime, along with Andromeda, Teddy’s grandmother, Hagrid, Neville, Luna and the person who embodied one of the many reasons why _that_ made her nervous, the woman she got her name from, the one and only Minerva McGonagall.

The headmistress of Hogwarts was well known around the Potter-Weasley household, as she had come throughout the years various times for their usual afternoon tea, and everytime both Sirius and Remus were able to join them, both the older woman and the little girl would turn around at the mention of the name _Minnie._ That always got Sirius to usually show his most famous mischievous grin and Remus was always chuckling near him, and the little girl never understood the reason behind their reaction. You know, little Minerva only allowed her grandfathers to use that pet name, no one in their family, not even her parents could call her that, so when she saw that the woman also turned around at that name, she started to call her “Minniegran” when she was about five years old. And after that, it stuck. In any case, now she was eleven and not a little kid anymore, she needed to be sir-no wait, serious about this. She had to prove she deserved what she was getting. Thoughts of all kinds were flowing inside her brain and she decided she needed a distraction. In the bed beside her was her little sister, Lily Luna. When Albus and Lily got a little older, she switched rooms to sleep with Lily instead of James Sirius, who was just beginning to become almost unbearable. She remembered when her older brother got it. He was _so_ happy and just excited about anything. She wished she could only feel those positive things. Now fully awake with no intention of getting back to sleep, she got up, saw that it was just 6AM and quietly closed the door behind herself. She went downstairs and sat on the couch in the living room. It was one of her favourite places in her house, it was the place in which she sat with her mother when they wanted to chat before going to bed, the place in which she fell asleep on her father’s chest when she was younger and he was too tired after work to even go up the stairs, the place where she always sat when she was reading a book. It was synonymous of comfort, security, and now it was the right place to think.

In a few months she would be leaving home, and she _could not wait_ to join her brother, but she also found herself insecure about the littlest things.

She sat there for apparently a long time, because she heard someone coming down from one of the bedrooms and noticed it had already been a little more than a couple of hours since she came down. At that time the only one who could be up was her father, so she waited for him to notice her.

“Honey, what are you doing up already at this time?” Harry said coming up to the couch and sat next to his daughter.

“I could not sleep. I think I woke up just after dawn, but I got up around six.”

He put his arms around her “My little lioness is turning eleven today. I can’t believe you’re not so little anymore, that in just a few months I won’t be there with you to bring you up in your room every time you fall asleep on the couch” his voice now a little broken “Happy birthday, sweetie!”

“Thank you, dad!” tightened her hold on him “And don’t worry, you can help me up the stairs during Christmas break and in the summer” she added with a chuckle.

Her father’s teary eyes now reflected a glint of pride and happiness directed just to her.

“So, why couldn’t you sleep” Harry said as he comfortably sat beside her, with his arm hugging her around the shoulders.

“I don’t really know, I mean I’m excited for sure, I just feel a little nervous about what’s going to happen”

“Did I ever tell you what happened when I got it?”

“No, but you were living with the Dursleys, right?”

“Yes, and believe me, something strange has always happened when I was younger, and never could explain it, but” he chuckled “The way I received my acceptance letter was unforgettable. The _first_ time I got it-”

“The first time?”

“Oh yes, I don’t even know how many I got before I could finally read it. You see, Vernon and Petunia were absolutely, totally both terrified and repulsed by our world, if that even makes sense. So around a week before my eleventh birthday I got the first mail of my life, and they would not let me open it. For days the mail came, more letters each day, we even went on a trip to escape, but they always knew where to find me, until Hagrid came himself to deliver it. It was quite hilarious the scene. He even gave Dudley a pig tail” he said reminiscing that time with a big grin on his face.

The little red-haired girl laughed, imagining a young Dudley Dursley with a pig tail. That got her father laughing too. After a few minutes they calmed down.

“Thank you, dad. I probably just needed a distraction, I’m feeling a lot lighter now” she gave Harry her fullest smile.

“So, what do you say if we start to prepare breakfast, since we know Mom will probably be coming down in a few and Teddy with the Grands will get here for sure before James wakes up”

“Can we make those special pancakes you prepare?”

“Anything you want, sweetie, today’s your day”

They both got up from the couch and as Minerva skipped into the kitchen Harry was watching her with a little smile on his face, his daughter was growing so fast.

***

About an hour later, with around four piles of Harry’s special pancakes ready with a spell that could keep them warm until needed, and the slices of bacon and the eggs still sizzling on the pans, the whole Potter family already up – except James Sirius, of course – heard a loud thud coming from their fireplace. They all knew what it meant, Minnie threw her fingers up in the air silently mouthing _three, two, one_ and exactly on point she felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around her from behind, almost strangling her “Who’s the little cub getting old today?”

Minnie laughed, she loved when they called them their _little cubs_. “Grandpads you’re strangling me”

“Sirius, let Minnie breathe, please, we want her to actually live through her birthday, you know?”

Sirius let loose and Minnie turned around to see him parroting Remus’s words. She just laughed harder and then hugged him tightly “I’m turning eleven years old, but I’ll never be as old as y-” she interrupted herself as she saw her cousin Teddy just telling her _no_ with his hands and shaking his head “as your godson”.

Sirius laughed loudly “Which one?” he asked with his famous cocky grin.

“James, of course” she replied with a deadpanning expression.

“You’re just saying that so that you can get an extra portion of pancakes” interrupted Harry with a little smile on his lips as he brought the rest of the food on the table.

“No, I would never” replied Minnie but with a mischievous smile.

She then was hugged tightly by Remus, who left a kiss on her forehead and said “Happy birthday, munchkin”

“Thank you, Grandmoomy” she smiled at him and pointed him to the chair next to hers. Teddy sat on the other side and whispered in her ear “Sorry, Min, but dadfoot’s acting strange about his age again. The other day he said he was going to die soon because he’s turning fifty-seven this year. Dad and I did not know if we had to laugh or try to comfort him. He looked mental.”

She chuckled as she did not find hard to imagine her grandfather acting that way.

As everyone was sitting down an almost zombie-like figure entered the kitchen.

“James Sirius Potter, could you not get at least a little decent for your sister’s birthday?” said Ginny with a stern voice. Suddenly the young boy opened his eyes and saw his entire, big family in front of him “oh fu-” he stopped himself as Ginny raised her eyebrow disapprovingly and Sirius did the same but expecting him to continue “fudge?” it almost ended up sounding like a question. He ran up the stairs and everyone at the table laughed, mostly Ginny, who everyone knew she had acted that way just to mess with James. A few minutes later the thirteen-year-old boy returned dressed a little better, with a pair of black jeans and a Queen t-shirt, – as Sirius had taught him all about the best muggle rock bands and passed onto him his obsession – his hair as messy as his father’s and his grandfather’s before him. James Sirius sat beside Sirius, fist-bumped him without even looking, as it had always been their usual way of greeting each other, and started stuffing his face with anything that passed under his eyes.

Everyone was chatting around the table when Ginny got up to pick up the cake, of course chocolate flavoured, as Minerva had picked up this unhealthy obsession with it from Remus, who was almost proud of that specific trait of his goddaughter. She was just putting in in front of her daughter when they heard some kind of hoot outside the window. The moment had come.

Everyone fell silent, Ginny placed the cake back on the counter and Harry got up to open the window to the owl, who was feeding himself from the bowl they always left outside with little snacks.

“Wait, there are two letters here!”

“Dad, it can’t be like it happened to you, right?” said Minerva a little confused.

“No sweetie, they know you would immediately read it.”

“So, what is it?”

“Let me see” replied Harry, turning them around “Wait, here it says that one is for Remus?”

That got Remus to look up immediately, confused as ever “Wait, what? One for me? Why?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you open it?” said Sirius to his husband, with a subtle little _I-might-know-something-and-you-don’t_ smile that went unnoticed by Remus, almost too confused for his own good. Teddy was sporting the same smile his dadfoot had, they certainly knew something all the others didn’t.

“It’s not possible…” whispered Remus.

“What’s happening Grandmoons?” asked a curious Lily Luna from the other side of the table.

“We can talk about it later, pup. Your sister’s letter is way more important” Remus turned to his left and gave Minerva a reassuring look. She took a deep breath and opened the envelope, took out the paper and started to read out loud with a trembling, but excited voice.

_“HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall_

_Dear Ms. Minerva Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress”_

On the second page there was all the equipment she needed for her first year, which had been already taken care of in advance. She was so excited, she was really accepted and she could feel tears pooling up in her eyes. She felt arms around her and saw her parents grinning at her. Everyone was cheering, James and Teddy were whistling with their fingers, just like the one who taught them this trick – Sirius, of course. After a few minutes full of hugs and cheers, Minerva turned to Remus “Grandmoons, what did your letter say?”

“Read it out loud” exclaimed Teddy. Remus turned to look at his son with an arched eyebrow, but started to read nonetheless.

“ _HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall_

_Dear. Mr. Remus John Lupin,_

_We were wondering if you would kindly accept our offer to reprise your position as a teacher for the Defence Against Dark Arts teaching post from this year on._

_We believe that too much time has passed since the last time you were offered this position and, if you were to agree to our request, we would be delighted to have you here again. We await your reply._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_ ”

By the end of the letter his voice was trembling and his hands were shaking a little bit.

“Does this mean we’ll go to Hogwarts together?!” asked Minerva excitedly.

“Hey! We’re here too!” said both Teddy and James at the same time, pretending to be offended.

“I don’t know, pup…” replied Remus uncertain.

“You have to say yes, Moons!” said Sirius, looking deeply into his husband’s eyes “You know you deserve it, you were just born for the job”

“It’s true, Remus, our third year was absolutely the best we could hope for! You were the perfect teacher” said Harry, agreeing with his godfather. Remus’s cheeks tinged a little bit pink, but he knew he had to say yes.

“Did you know about this?” he asked Sirius.

“Of course, Minnie asked me if I thought it would be a good idea, and I said yes” replied Padfoot with a smirk.

“Pads, should I remind you that she wanted _my_ opinion too?” said Teddy, with the same arched eyebrow his father had.

“Those are just futile details, pft”

“Wait, Ted, what did you say?” Remus said turning to his son.

“Well, it’s not like it is my dream to have my father as a teacher for my last year at Hogwarts” he groaned way too hard for it to be true “But I know you’re the best, so I guess it’s good to have you the year I have to take my N.E.W.T.s” he ended with the same smirk he learned to mimic from Sirius.

Remus seemed more relaxed now, he took a deep breath “Okay, so I think it might be time to get back to Hogwarts” and smiled.

Cheers erupted from all around, Minerva threw herself at him and whispered into his ear “This is the best-est year at Hogwarts I could dream of!” he could feel her smile.

“It will be the best-est of the best, sweetie!” he hugged her back, tightly, then laid his eyes on Sirius, who was just the picture of happiness.

 _I love you_ , Remus mouthed.

 _I know_ , Sirius replied with a wink.

****

A few hours had passed, little groups scattered around the house. Sirius and Remus were playing outside with the kids, while Harry, Ginny, Teddy and James Sirius were playing a little Quidditch game in the backyard, Harry teamed up with Teddy and Ginny with James. Minerva was in her room, finishing to get ready for the party. She tried to tame her hair but nothing was working. She suddenly heard a noise from downstairs and a few voices.

“They must be outside, ‘Mione, otherwise we would have heard Ginny yelling at James or something”

Minnie laughed as it was probably the truth, and she knew that her aunt was trying to repress a smile, because she knew her husband was telling the truth. The birthday girl ran down the stairs to greet the whole family “Good morning everyone!”

The four people standing in the living room turned around, Hugo and Rose both happy to see their cousin “Min! Happy Birthday!”.

She was tackled by the two kids, who almost knocked her to the ground with their hug. “Guys, help!” she exclaimed looking at her aunt and uncle, but with a laugh.

“Come on, Rose, Hugo, try not to strangle your cousin, we’d like to wish her a happy birthday too” said Hermione to her children with a stern, but amused tone.

The two red-haired kids let their cousin loose “Where are the others?”

“I think mom and dad are having a Quidditch match with JS and Teddy. Al and Lily must be around with Pads and Moons”

Rose and Hugo hurried up outside and Minnie stayed behind. Ron went up to her and picked her up in his arms “Happy birthday, little tiger!” he said before placing a kiss on her cheek “How’s this important birthday going?”

“Thank you, uncle Ron! I received my Hogwarts during breakfast! And Mom made the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had!” she replied excitedly.

“Excellent! I know you’ll do perfect at school, you’ll be just like Mione, but a troublemaker!” he laughed and then put her down.

“Oh Ronald, do I need to remind you the things I’ve come up with while we were at Hogwarts?” Hermione said with a grin.

“You’re also right, my dear. I’ll go and see if they need a keeper, probably Ginny already convinced Hugo to pick up one of their spare brooms” he ruffled Minerva’s hair, making it even messier and went outside.

Hermione walked up to her niece, and hugged her “Happy birthday, sweetie!”

“Thank you, aunt Mione!” replied Minerva, but then looked at her feet.

“What is it, honey? What’s wrong with my goddaughter on this important day?”

“You know, I received the Hogwarts letter, right?” Hermione nodded in acknowledgement and Minnie continuer “Well, I’m so excited about it, also because Grandmoons will come back as a teacher this year apparently! But I feel a little nervous about all of this...”

“First of all, I did not know Remus would return to Hogwarts, but it’s really for the best, he’s an amazing teacher!” then she took Minerva’s hand and brought her to the couch “You know honey, when I got my letter, I was terrified”

“Really?!”

“Yes! Of course, I was! You know, as a muggle-born I almost did not believe magic could exist, and of top of that my parents did not know anything about this world. To say we were surprised would be an understatement! But then I got to school and there I met Ron and Harry. They made it less terrifying. And when I got there, I absolutely felt like I was in the right place, one way or another it will always feel like home” said Hermione, looking deeply into her niece’s eyes.

“Are you sure everything will be alright for me too?” asked Minerva, still a bit scared.

“Of course it will! You’re not my goddaughter for nothing! You’ll do magnificently” the woman replied reassuringly, kissing the little girl’s head “Now, what do you want to do before the others arrive?”

Minerva was now a little bit more relaxed “Can you help me with my hair? It’s too messy, I can’t seem to be able to do anything with it! And it’s so hot outside, I’ll be sweaty in no time if I don’t do anything”

Hermione laughed “Oh dear! It reminds me when I was your age, it was unbearable. I’ll help you, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve after all these years” she winked at her niece and they both went upstairs.

Around midday the Potter-Weasley backyard was full of people mingling around. You could see Arthur and Molly talking to Andromeda, Harry and Ginny seated around the table catching up with Neville and Luna, Sirius and Hagrid exchanging stories about Buckbeak, still alive and well at Hagrid’s hut, Remus and Hermione talking to Bill and Fleur, George and Angelina talking with Ron about new ideas for the shop and all the kids running around; also it seemed like Teddy and Victoire were involved in a deep conversation, seated under one of the trees that brought a little shadow in a sunny hot day. Minerva was feeling absolutely better, she felt like she was finally able to enjoy the day. But of course, that had to change.

She heard her father say “Professor, come, we’re already outside!”

“I’ve already told you for years, _Potter_ , that if I have to call you Harry, then I want you to call me Minerva”

“Alright! You win, _Minerva_ , it’s just weird getting used to that”

“You could learn from Sirius and your father, they’ve never had a problem using my first name even during their time at Hogwarts”

“MINNIE!” Sirius shouted from the other side of the backyard and ran up to her “Oh it’s so good to see you!”

“Mr. Black” she started with a stern face, then smiled after a few seconds “it’s so good to see you too, Sirius”

Remus also walked up to them and put an arm around Sirius’s waist “Minerva, it’s always a pleasure to see you” he smiled “can we talk for a bit?”

“Remus! Yes, of course”

The pair went inside and little Minerva walked up to Sirius “Grandpads, can I talk to you?”

“Of course, sweetheart, what is it?” he let her sit on his knees.

“What do you think it will be like when I get to Hogwarts with Minniegran and all of that?”

“What do you mean?” he asked getting _seriously_ concerned.

“Well, everyone knows about dad, especially here, so when I get to Hogwarts, what if people will think that because of my name and the fact that I know Minniegran personally I will have some kind of special treatment?” she said, quite scared at the thought.

“Darling, you don’t have to worry about any of that. People knew that James knew Minerva, but they did not say a thing last year. And yes, your parents have named you after her, but everyone will get from the first moment they lay their eyes on you that everything you get is what you deserve, not some kind of special treatment. You’re a force of nature, just like your mother, your grandmothers, your godmother and, yes, even just like Minerva McGonagall, don’t ever, ever let anyone take that away from you. Alright, little cub?” Sirius replied to his granddaughter. Minerva was almost getting teary, she hugged him tightly “Thank you, Grandpads. I love you”

“I love you too, honey” he hugged her back.

They did not hear anyone coming up to them, until someone put a hand on Minerva’s hair startling her “Hey, Minnie, what do you say if you and I go with Minerva for a few minutes?” it was Remus, looking at his goddaughter so lovingly. She turned to Sirius a little uncertain, but with his eyes he told her _Go, don’t worry_ , so she left with Moony. The two of them went inside the kitchen where Minerva McGonagall was evidently waiting for her to arrive.

“Well Minerva, I think that before we talk about anything, I should wish you the happiest of birthdays, you turn eleven only once!”

“Thank you, professor!” Minerva replied with an almost timid voice.

“Since when do you call me _professor_ , miss?” McGonagall asked, amused.

“I don’t know, I thought that since I will come to Hogwarts in just a few months…”

“Oh, dear. You don’t have to worry about that. _Of course,_ at school I will only be your Headmistress, but it’s family time! I’ll always be the same person you’ve known your whole life, here.”

That seemed to calm Minnie a lot “Are you sure, Minniegran?”

“Certain! Come here, you” the older woman opened her arms to welcome the little girl in.

They hugged and the two figures just outside the kitchen were smiling at the scene in front of them.

“Why did you want to talk to Minerva before, Rem?”

“Oh, I wanted to tell her I accept to return at Hogwarts and to see if she could reassure Minnie, I had noticed that she was a little tense at breakfast, and I knew it probably had something to do with the whole Hogwarts and Minerva situation”

“You can always read her like an open book!” Sirius laughed “But she will be alright”

“Yes, she will be more than alright”

“Also, now you can keep an eye on her for us” Padfoot replied mischievously.

“Pads, I’m not going back to Hogwarts to spy on our granddaughter”

“But-”

“No buts, Sirius”

“No, you’re right, Remus, I just want yours” he grinned cockily.

“SIRIUS! Stop it” even Remus could not help but laugh with his husband. He put an arm around his waist and said with his famous-to-few mischievous grin “Anyway, our Minnie will do more than right. It’s in her marauder DNA”.

The two men laughed and returned outside, not knowing both Minerva and Minnie had heard the last thing Remus had said and smiled at each other. He was _so_ right.

**Author's Note:**

> The Minerva Potter Universe is the world in which if Harry and Ginny had had another daughter she would be called Minerva for sure! Moreover, in this universe Sirius and Remus live, they're now both 60 years old (in 2020) and love taking care of their grandchildren. All the other things from canon are still the same.  
> You can follow @minniethecatt on Twitter to get first access to the content and other gems!  
> [We own no character written by J.K. Rowling]


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